I always get comments when I take our 3 St. Bernards (two who are currently certified Therapy dogs), plus the one we own, plus our mastiff out for a walk.

I love parents who SNATCH their children off the ground and back away from us slowly, while my 4 stand and stare at them.

"ooh, such biiiig doggies, they must BITE". Uh, no, they have to wake up from their naps in order to even consider going outside let alone bite someone.

"oh GOD, you must have SO much DROOL all OVER your house" Have you ever heard of drool towels? Cleaning supplies?

"What do you do with your son while you're looking after the dogs?" Um, he's with me when he's not in school, and the majority of the time, he likes to be outside. After that, I usually ignore him and leave him locked in his closet....

On my career/outside interests:

"oh, you're a FIREFIGHTER? You must meet SO many HOT men!"...No, have you seen some of the men I work with?

"It's too bad you didn't finish high school and got a BETTER job"...No, I have a 4 year undergraduate degree in sports administration, plus a masters in public administration, I just happen to love my career!

"you play hockey? At your age? Are you a l*sbian?" Um, hockey paid my tuition in university, and it keeps me in shape. As for the other question, I don't even answer.

Ha! Oh lord, I deal with this set of assumptions all the time (I'm so very sick of feeling like I should apologise for liking pro-wrestling). Hey, all the athletic men running around in teeny tiny pants wouldn't possibly have anything to do with my appreciation of it.

Nope. Nope nothing at all...

Personally I like it for the subtle nuances of character, the depth and sophistication of the plot lines. My interest is purely artistic...

I laughed long and loud and hard at that. Thanks for my first good laugh of an otherwise miserable day.

Logged

It's best to love your family as you would a Siberian Tiger - from a distance, preferably separated by bars . -- Pearls Before Swine (16-May-2009)

"So, you're from Finland, you must be really used to cold weather!" ummm... the weather in the north of Germany is not really much more pleasant, to be honest. "...you must be really used to it being dark ALL the time" well, the winter is a bit darker but, hey, you should see your summers!

"You moved here from abroad to be with your man. You must be happy to no loger be poor" Sorry? Did you check which country I come from?

Unfortunately, I've heard one of the assumptions Sycorax already mentioned:"Oh, your man is German. He must be a Nazi" speechless, truly speechless. He was born in 1978, married a non-German, is quite religious and very open and accepting.

While I was still "just" dating my now-DH"Oh, your boyfriend goes to law school, you guys are going to be so rich! And you'll never need to work" Yeaah... that'd be nice, I guess...

Now that my DH is a judge"Oh, you guys must be so rich!" yeah... that'd be even nicer!

We have had 3 Bull Terriers, all rescues, and one miniature BT, the Queen of the Universe, show champion, Gracie. Our 3rd BT rescue is Beau, who is deaf. We've had him about 3 weeks.

They are renowned as the clowns of the dog world, and as "a two-year-old in a dog suit." They are very loving, and prefer to be, not just with you, but on you. They're not for first time dog owners, as they can be difficult to train. They have a spirit of mischief!

Here are a couple of stories about bullies at their worst, and a couple of videos showing what we mean by "hucklebutt."

I LOVE Bull Terriers! So cute. PitBullDad wants to get one when he's out of the military. I told him I can't handle 3 bullys while he's away!

We became PB Parents quite by accident. Our male, Blue, had been abandoned at a vet's office after suffering in an accident involving a lawn mower. He was a dog who needed a home and we had a home who needed a dog! We loved Blue so much we decided to get him a sister ... our Allie. I love my bullies ... they are so loyal and loving. (Even when they hog the bed, lol!)

@Keres: American Staffordshire terriers are sometimes called pit bulls, but so are Staffordshire bull terriers, American bulldogs, American pit bull terriers, bull terriers proper, and even Boston terriers (which look rather like a cute little puppy in a bulldog mask). So are boxers and assorted other attempts to correct the physical defects of the English bulldog besides the American bulldog, such as the Alapaha blue blood. And so are assorted other breeds from around the world. It more or less means "big shoulders, small waist, short hair, triangular lop ears if not docked, long skinny tail ditto, broad skull that is often grooved, upturned nose and low-slung jaw, goofy smile, thick neck and powerful bite--but not as big, slobbery, or provided with folds and flews as an actual mastiff, and not quite as beefy as a Rottweiler." These breeds share general tendencies to be energetic, not very dog-safe, and patient with children, but I don't know whether they're all related or whether people independently took mastiffs (which were originally dogs with mutations for gigantism) and said, "You know, these pups have handy features, but we don't need that much dog."

As you probably know, until fairly recently they did not have a bad reputation; calling somebody a pit bull was a compliment to their tenacious nature. Actually "Alsatians" (any dog that looked like a German shepherd) used to be the nightmare type.

Oh, here's another one: "You eat venison? You must think Bambi is a comedy, you cruel non-nature-loving person you." No, I think a deer shot in a road-system hunt is a heckuva lot cheaper per pound than beef.

Oh, here's another one: "You eat venison? You must think Bambi is a comedy, you cruel non-nature-loving person you." No, I think a deer shot in a road-system hunt is a heckuva lot cheaper per pound than beef.

Keres

@Keres: American Staffordshire terriers are sometimes called pit bulls, but so are Staffordshire bull terriers, American bulldogs, American pit bull terriers, bull terriers proper, and even Boston terriers (which look rather like a cute little puppy in a bulldog mask). So are boxers and assorted other attempts to correct the physical defects of the English bulldog besides the American bulldog, such as the Alapaha blue blood.

In my experience, any dog with the slightest bit of aggression or a slightly scary appearance is a 'pit bull'.

That said, I believe a 'proper' pit bull is the American Staffordshire Terrier, for the rest it is a result of the breeds being mis-identified and then the term coming into general parlance.

But my former neighbor was an AKC nutcase (said with love) who often was prone to waxing poetic about the proper terms for breeds of dog, and I'm not sure where her opinion ended and actual 'fact' began.

The AKC recognizes the American Staffordshire Terrier. The UKC (United Kennel Club) and ADBA (American Dog irresponsible parents of the human variety Association) recognize the American Pit Bull Terrier. They are, in fact, separate breeds with their own set of standards, but an AKC AmStaff can be duel registered as a UKC APBT. However, a UKC APBT can not be duel registered as an AKC AmStaff. Once upon a time (1920's-1940's), the breeds were the same and just went by different names depending on which kennel club one registered with. Now, due to breeding practices, evolution, etc, the breeds are now recognized as different.

The term 'pit bull' is a general term used to describe any breed with the characteristics of an AmStaff/APBT. Some irresponsible parents of the human variety/dog owners will even go so far as to say, "If your dog isn't registered/papered as one or the other, you have to use the general 'pit bull' term vs. AmStaff or APBT."

FTR, both of mine are rescues and we don't have papers on them. I believe my male is an APBT and my female is an AmStaff, but w/o papers, there's no way to know for sure. I just call them pit bulls or bullies. Or Blue and Allie.